Full text: Report on China's economic, social development plan (5)

4) Better public services were provided. We continued to improve the basic conditions of badly built and poorly operated schools providing compulsory education in poor areas, launched the plan to strengthen the workforce of teachers in rural areas, and opened up more channels through which students from poor rural areas enter key colleges and universities. The retention rate of nine-year compulsory education reached 93%, while the gross enrollment ratio for senior secondary education reached 87%. We improved the system for community-level medical care services, the prevention and control system for major diseases, and the work to train general practitioners. The per capita government expenditures on basic public health services increased to 40 yuan, with the number of categories of basic public health services increasing to 12. We issued and implemented the national standards to guide the provision of basic public cultural services, and increased support to improve prefecture-level facilities for public cultural services. Significant progress was made in catalyzing innovative development in the sports industry.

Box 13: Provision of Public Services

5) The construction of government-subsidized housing progressed smoothly. We supported government-subsidized housing projects, such as the rebuilding of run-down areas, by increasing central government's budgetary investments and special funding in this area, allocating special development funds, and securing financing through corporate debt issuance. Over the last year, construction began on 7.83 million government-subsidized housing units in urban areas and construction on 7.72 million units was basically completed.

In assessing performance in relation to meeting the targets projected in the plan, overall targets for national economic and social development, such as the economic growth rate, the consumer price index, the balance of payments, and employment levels, remained within the proper range; those targets reflecting economic structure and quality were further improved; targets regarding social development and people's wellbeing maintained positive momentum; and targets related to resource conservation and environmental protection were implemented satisfactorily. Overall, planned targets were well met.

All 18 obligatory targets have been achieved as planned. Of the 41 anticipatory targets, the performance of 35 was in line with or better than expectations, 5 fell short of the projected figures, and there is one target for which the figures are not comparable due to changes in the statistical standards. It should be noted that the anticipatory targets are neither mandatory nor predicted; they are development objectives that the government hopes to achieve and a reflection of the anticipated direction of national development and policy orientation. The actual performance of these targets is objectively decided by the market, and may be higher or lower than the projected figures. The reasons for the discrepancies between the projected figures for some anticipatory targets and the actual performance are as follows: First, in order to reflect the orientation of macro-control policies toward boosting domestic demand, the targets of total retail sales of consumer goods and fixed-asset investment were set slightly higher than the estimated figures. These were targets for us to work toward over the course of the whole year, and as a result, there was a minor difference between the actual performance and the projected figures. The actual increase in the total retail sales of consumer goods basically met the projected target in real terms, but was lower than the target set at the beginning of the year in nominal terms because of imported deflation, the decline in the prices of some domestically manufactured goods, and the limited increase in the prices of agricultural products. In the face of a sluggish international market and insufficient domestic demand, total fixed-asset investment also fell short of the projected figure set at the beginning of 2015. This was due to serious overcapacity in some manufacturing industries; excess supply in the real estate markets of third- and fourth-tier cities; and a sustained fall in the prices of goods for investment as well as other factors. Second, unique factors resulted in the target for spending on R&D being lower than the projected figure. This was due to the increasing downward pressure on economic growth and the continued decline in the profits of enterprises in 2015. In addition, the figure for spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP in 2014 was adjusted statistically from 2.09% at the beginning of the year to 2.05% at the end of the year. These factors meant that the 2015 target for R&D spending as a percentage of GDP was not achieved. Third, changes in the international economic environment caused the yearly figures for some targets to be lower than the projected figures. Under the influence of a slowdown in the growth of world trade and a slump in energy prices on the international market, the growth of total import and export volume was slower than projected. A sharp drop in the prices of major commodities on the global market and the slackening demand for natural gas on the domestic market also meant that natural gas output for last year fell short of the projected target. Finally, the statistical standards for calculating the population using household registration have been adjusted by the competent department, and therefore the actual figure for the percentage of the population registered as urban residents in 2015 is not comparable with the projected figure.

In brief, facing complex situations both at home and abroad, the achievements that China has made thus far in economic and social development have not come easily. They are the result of the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and the concerted efforts of all regions and departments and the people of all our ethnic groups. Through five years of hard work, the major targets set out in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development have been successfully completed.

At the same time, we should also be keenly aware that the world economy is still undergoing profound adjustment, the divergence of economies is pronounced, growth of the global economy and trade are sluggish, geopolitical risks are on the rise, the foundation for economic recovery is still weak, and external instabilities and uncertainties are increasing. In this current period of development, China must simultaneously manage the slowdown in economic growth, make difficult structural adjustments, and absorb the effects of previous economic stimulus policies. As the adverse effects of a sustained slowdown in economic growth continue to persist and deep-seated and longstanding problems, especially structural problems, become more serious, the conditions for China's development may become even more complex and the difficulties even more formidable.

First, the downward pressure on China's economy is mounting. The slowdown in the growth of demand is continuing. With international demand remaining weak, the situation in relation to foreign trade has become more challenging and complex. Affected by the persistently low prices of manufactured goods and the rising costs of labor and other factors of production, growth in investment is slow, particularly in the area of manufacturing. As downward pressure on China's economy begins to affect employment and personal income, it may also spread to and affect private consumption.

Second, the difficulties faced by the real economy are building. Having been pressed by insufficient demand as well as a rise in overall costs, the ability of enterprises in some industries to make a profit has decreased, and with losses in some industries increasing the number of enterprises facing difficulty is also rising. This has resulted in layoffs and hidden unemployment within some enterprises and industries. (mo